The always tense Manchester derby has again seen fireworks with United victorious 3-2 over City thanks to a late winner from Robin Van Persie.
It was a jovial start to the match. The managers approached each other with a stern handshake before breaking into helpless smiles and separating good-naturedly.
There was a quick pat on the back by each before they took up their positions on the side-lines.
The home fans cheered the names of their players as the announcer read them out. Mario Balotelli’s cheer was as positive as the rest, despite apprehension that Carlos Tevez deserved his starting spot.
The crowd belted out a hair-raising rendition of ‘Blue Moon’ and we were into the match.
Manchester City were dominant early. The likes of David Silva, Gaël Clichy and Samir Nasri knocked the ball around with intricate care, trying to skewer United’s defence.
Despite controlling possession it was Wayne Rooney who scored the first goal. City’s tactful attack broke down and United quickly broke away finding Rooney in the box.
It was the first time the Red Devils had been in City’s half. Rooney’s shot looked to come off his heel as he dragged it across his body and the ball rolled painfully slow, past two defenders and the keeper, almost perfectly into the corner.
Their was nothing Joe Hart could do as the strike went under the legs of a defender and tamely in. You have to ask, did he mean to do that?
Rooney’s second goal was more convincing. It was one of the rare occasions United had possession and as the ball was crossed along the carpet, Rooney hit it with power into the same corner as before.
City had been unable to score goals coming into this match and it looked like the trend would continue. They went to the break 2-0 down.
In the second half Balotelli was substituted after one-too-many casual back-heels. His poor performance left Mancini no option but to replace him.
That meant Tevez could enter the game. Tevez has had a lot of success playing against his old club and the decision not to start him left many puzzled, including the match commentators.
Ferguson had the experience of Giggs and Scholes sitting on the bench but he saw no reason to use them. Mancini however called upon Tevez and Dzeko from his bench to get City back in the fight.
The intensity lifted.
Van Persie almost made it three goals to nil when his shot came off the bar and landed at the feet of Young, who was controversially deemed to be offside. Less than a minute later, United’s keeper, De Gea, was forced to make two successive saves.
The threat wasn’t dealt with, a third shot was blocked by a defender and the rebound met Yaya Toure who finally put the ball in the back of the net and City was back with a sniff at 1-2.
City was beginning to look the better side. Rio Ferdinand was yellow carded for raising his boot to the face of Tevez.
Both teams had their share of luck from the referees, with United unfairly refused a penalty in the box when Evra was bumped off the ball before the referee missed a blatant hand-ball by a United player.
With all the momentum, a flurry of opportunities and over five minutes to go, City looked like they would find the winning goal. In a cruel twist of fate, Tevez, the former United striker, gifted his old side a penalty.
The man so used to setting up United’s goals had done so again when he (unintentionally) clipped the heels of a United player drawing the foul. It was a challenging position to score from and Van Persie stepped up to be Manchester United’s hero.
He curled it around a three-man wall, past an unconvincing Nasri and beat Hart’s open side. In the post-match press-conference Mancini had this to say: “We only put three players (in the wall). Actually, we only had two-and-a-half players there.”
Referring to Samir Nasri’s lazy effort – it was his boot which caught a deflection before going in. If he wasn’t before, Van Persie, the former Arsenal Gunner, is well and truly in the good books of United fans now.
Manchester City were the better team for most of the match and after the equaliser never looked like losing.
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